Protected stocking or the like.



G. L. PIERCE.

PROTECTED sTucKlNG 0R THE UKE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l5. 1914.

' Patented May 8,1917.

I/VI/E/VTO? A TTOR/VEY WHA/5385s s ltllellifi@ @TATE FATEN @FFQEQ GEORGE L. PIERCE, 0F BROOKLYN, NE'W YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 A. G. SPALDNG & BROS., OF NEV YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATON OF NEW JERSEY.

PROTECTED STOCKING OR THE LIKE.

Application filed June 15. 1914.

Be it known that l, Gnonon L. Finnen, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of leu' York. have invented certain new and useful improvements in Frotected Stockings or the like, of which the following is a specification.

lThis invention relates broadly to improvements in protectors for the human body, adapted to prevent the injuriesusually resulting from blows and impacts such as would, for instance, be received during participation in the games of football, baseball, hockey and other athletic events.

The main object of the present embodiment of this invention, as disclosed in Figures l and ii, and of the variation of said embmliment shown in Figs. 3 and 4.-, is to provide a protector of the above type adapted to be effective adjacent the shins of a wearer, the` embodiments above mentioned each including` a structure which may advantageously be carried directly by, and as a part of, the stocking in place of the independent structures of the class heretofore known, which are adapted to be strapped or otherwise affixed to the leg outside the stocking.

Other objects and aims of the invention more or less broad than those stated above, together' with the advantages inherent, will be in part obvious and in part specifically referred to in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts, and applications of principles constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will appear from the claims.

Referring now particularly to the drawing, which is to be taken as a part of this specification, and wherein are shown various embodiments aforesaid, Fig. l is a view in side elevation, partially broken ai'ay and partially in section, showing one of said embodiments gFig. 2 is a front elevation of certain of the parts shown in Fig. l; Fig.'3 is a. detail perspective view of a portion of one of the parts shown in Fig. 2; Fig. d is a view in front elevation, partially broken away, showing a variation as aforesaid in said embodiment; and Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Similar reference characters refer te simi- Specification cf Letters Patent.

Patented May MMV?.

Serial No. 45,054.

lar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Examining the embodiment disclosed in li igs. l and 2, a unitary structure is shown, the foundation member of which is an ordil nary sock or stocking Mounted upon the forepart of the stocking or upon that part which usually overlies the shin of the wearer, is a plurality of parallel, separable, generally sausage-like cushion members G; in the present instance, four of these members are disclosed. and they are disposed longitudinally of the stocking.

Each cushion member consists (see Fig. l) of agenerally tubular casing., constructed of suitable material, and preferably of an elastic and flexible one, such as canvas, leL ther or the like. Each casing 7 accommodates a mass of preferably resilient stuifing 8. Stuffing 8 may consist of any suitable material, such as cotton, was "e, curled hair, or the like. Each of the members is closed at both ends as by means of stitching 9, or the like. And this stitching 9 may, if desired, be caused to engage with the stocking itself to serve the double function of attaching a member (3 thereto, and also of closing the ends of said member. 0f course it is obvious that the members (3 or their equivalents may be otherwise mounted upon the stocking, as by the utilization of the stitching l0 shown in Fig. l; in which case a possible method of attaching the member G to the stocking would consist in assembling an empty and open-ended casing suitably adjacent the stocking, and then in stitching the casing adjacent a longitudinal edge thereof to the stocking, as by means of the stitching l0, to the end that thereafter the casing may become the recipient of a suitable mass of stuffing 8 and thereafter have its open ends closed and itself further attached to the stocking adjacent its ends by means of the stitching 9, as aforesaid. 0r, if the casings 6 each be formed of a strip 6 seamed as at G (see Fig. 3), the seams themselves may serve as the parts to be stitched to the stocking; and in this connection attention is called to the illustrated zigzag, single stitching 10 shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, which could serve in a convenient and obvious manner as an anchorage for the casings. lt is contemplated as the preferred practice that the several longitudinally extending sausage-like cushion mem- CII bers shall be so secured to the stocking and with relation to each other that as the stocking is expanded transversely, adjacent cushion members will be correspondingly spaced apart; and to this end the opposed faces of adjacent cushion members should not be joined together. Thus the cushion members may separate somewhat with the stretching of the stocking, increasing rather than diminishing the protective value of the plurality of cushions.

It may be desired to assemble a plurality' ot' members (5 into a unitaryv combination before attachment to a stocking, and if this be preferred, the construction shown in Figs. 2l and l may be used. llere a plurality of members (i, which may be constructed similar to member (i shown and described .in connection with Figs. l and 2, mayv have their aliued ends 6 attached by suitable stitching to a transverse strap l1, or the like. ln addition, if desired, there may be associated. with them, by means of suitable stitching, an additional strap .l2 which could lie transversely and medially of said members as shown in Figs. 3 and 4r. rlhe straps ll and l2 will preferably be constructed of an elastic material. These straps, after being preferably preliminar-ily attached to the members G, are in turn attached to the stocking 5, as by means of the stitching illustrated. A. possible advantage in utilizing the structure shown in Figs. 3 and l, rather' than that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, would lie in the fact that the protector or protectors could be separately purchased and attached by the purchaser himself to his ordinary stocking Without much trouble. ln this form also the individual cushion members separate from each other z the stocking is stretched, and the elastic strips tend to draw them together.

It vill be seen that there have been provided embodiments of the invention which, While adequately guarding the shins of the wearer from injury, are yet capable of being Worn ivith great comfort and laclr of any appearance of clumsiness. The present embodiments, moreover, while exceedingly eective to attain their objects, are capa ble of being' produced and purchased at an exceedingly loiv cost. lf a protector should wear out before its supporting stocking, or if the stocking should wear out before the protector, the worn out member would merely have to be ripped from the other, which latter is then available for conven ient and inexpensive utilization with a substitute coperant part. Obviously, on account of the flexible character of the cushion members, they can be used over the knee-caps, or in other places Where the ordinary sti'l'll protector could not be used. Also, the protector being a multiple unit, the whole thingneed not be thrown away when a single cushion member is injured.

lnasmuch as many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently `Wide different embodiments of my invention could be made Without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

lt is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebet veen.

l claim:

l. A stockiiny or the like, having secured thereto a plurality of flexible sausage-likev cushion members secured in parallel relation longitudinally of the stocking and separable from each other as the stocking stretches.

2. A stocking or the like having secured thereto a plurality of flexible sausage-like members secured in parallel relation longitudinally of the stocking, each of said members having an outstanding seam at its baci; whereby it is secured to the stocking.

In testimony whereof l afliX my signature in presence of tivo Witnesses.

GEGRGE L. PIERCE. `Witnesses HELEN V. Frzra'rnioii, MARY H. Lewis.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

